An Influx in the Thousands: Late Classic Migration to Perry Mesa

Abstract

At the time when prehistoric populations were uprooting and relocating themselves across much of the Southwest, an influx of thousands of immigrants possibly arrived onto the elevated and windswept terrain of Perry Mesa in central Arizona. During the Late Classic (A.D. 1280–1400), the expanded populations built large and imposing pueblos equally spaced along the mesa edge and overlooking 1000-foot cliffs. How so many people moved to Perry Mesa in late prehistory is a question we address with survey and ceramic analyses. We assess three migration scenarios: (1) a rapid deployment of a large population en masse for defense; (2) a prolonged migration stream, whereby newcomers steadily arrived to join founder groups, and (3) a scenario that truly was not a migration at all, but rather a local reorganization including the construction of the big pueblos. We also consider how the Perry Mesa case contributes to theory building for migration processes.